I am looking for pictures and/or drawings of Southern Railway Mailtrain #97. Baldwin built engine #1102 (4-6-0) and the four cars it was pulling on September 27, 1903, before Stillhouse Trestle. It consisted of two postal cars, one express car, and one baggage car. Thanks, Bill Damewood

-- Bill E. Damewood (damewood@infi.net), March 09, 2002

Answers

"History of the Wreck of the Old 97" is a soft-cover book privately published by G. Howard Gregory in 1981. I have a copy of this and a second (identical) edition published in 1992. I got it from Mr. Gregory at: 140 Walton Drive, Appomatox VA 24522 and priced (in both 1981 and 1992) at $4.95. It is about 36 pages long and includes text, photos and maps. There is a fair reproduction of a photo of 4-6-0 #1102 taken in 1929 and a painting of the locomotive and 4-car train shortly before the wreck. Picture quality is fair to poor.

I don't know if Mr. Gregory is still at the Appomatox address or if he still has copies of his book for sale, but it's worth a letter.

-- tom warne (twar@chevron.com), March 12, 2002.